Health authorities are closely watching an outbreak of respiratory illness caused by a new strain of coronavirus known as COVID-19. Here are the answers to key questions about the outbreak: What is the new virus? Scientists have identified the virus as a novel, or new, coronavirus. The name comes from the Latin word for crowns or halos, which coronaviruses resemble …

Your immune system may be able to produce antibodies that recognize and fight off the coronaviruses that cause common colds, but those antibodies are not likely to protect against the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, new research shows. At Rockefeller University in New York City, scientists studied blood samples collected and stored before the pandemic from people known to have had common colds …

MADRID: Spain and Germany both had setbacks in the Nations League on Tuesday, with Spain losing to Ukraine for the first time ever and Germany being held to a draw by last-placed Switzerland. Spain kept the group lead despite a 1-0 loss in Kiev in a match attended by about 15,000 fans. Germany went two goals down in the first …

MONTEVIDEO: Neymar is now second only to Pele among Brazil’s all-time leading scorers. A hat-trick by Neymar on Tuesday gave Brazil a 4-2 win at Peru and the lead in South American World Cup qualifying. The 28-year-old striker now has 64 goals for Brazil, overtaking Ronaldo. He celebrated one of his goals by mimicking the former No 9’s celebration showing …

LAHORE: Former captain and seasoned cricketer Misbah-ul-Haq has turned cold feet once again and has relinquished yet another responsibility assigned to him just 13 months back — this time the key post of chief selector. Earlier this year, he handed his batting coach’s role to another legendary batsman Younis Khan prior to the last tour of England in July and …

A player in the domestic National Twenty20 competition has been approached by a suspected bookmaker in Rawalpindi, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday. The player was unnamed, and the board said in a statement that its anti-corruption unit investigated and shared details with government authorities. The approach was reported by the player to PCB’s Anti-Corruption and Security Director …

KARACHI: Riding on belligerent batting of Azam Khan and captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sindh serenely sealed their semi-final place in the National T20 Cup on Wednesday after handing defending champions Northern a 25-run defeat in Rawalpindi. Following the helter-skelter victory on the last ball against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 24 hours earlier, the resurgent Sindh cruised to their fourth straight success with ease …

KARACHI: The G20 has decided to extend its debt relief to help poor countries fight the Covid-19 pandemic by another six months. Originally approved in May 2020, the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) was supposed to run till December 2020. Pakistan was approved under the initiative and $1.8 billion of its external debt service payments falling due till December were …

KARACHI: The stock market snapped two-day selling streak on Wednesday with the index managing to recover 137.61 points (0.34 per cent) and close at 40,144.29. Trading remained volatile with the benchmark making a high and low of 177 and 161 points during the day. Traders said that lack of interest kept participants away from the market represented by low volume. …

ISLAMABAD: The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) at a specially-convened meeting on Wednesday decided to delist the auction of three high priced lands located in Lahore, Multan and Rahimyar Khan from the government’s active list of privatisation. The delisted properties include 120 kanals of land adjacent to Multan Industrial Estate owned by the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, 49 kanals of land in …